The Agile Scaleup

Top 3; OKRs vs. KPIs; Luxury Wins; One Spot Still

 

Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be. 

Elizabeth Gilbert

You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.

Ayn Rand

Upscale Scaleups – Why Fashion Acquisitions are in Vogue

If you own a small luxury brand, right now might be the best time to sell to get top valuation. This Raconteur article details why this is a good time to sell (cheap debt, SPAC activity, and big three) – and the benefits of being owned by an entity that has the funds and expertise to scale your brand. In general, luxury goods firms are valued highly because of their huge profitability – think Apple! And this is why one of the wealthiest people in the world is Bernard Arnault, owner of LVMH. Become the luxury brand in your industry – or the lowest priced -- tough to be stuck in the middle of the pack!

“Top 3” OKR Software

Speaking of top brands, Capterra, a Gartner Group firm that helps buyers choose the right software, analyzed 146 providers of OKR software. Based on reviews from users, our Align/Scoreboard SaaS offering was one of only 3 “Top Performers”! Whether you use KPIs, OKRs, Goals, Priorities (different names for the same thing), tracking these cascading priorities and metrics is critical in driving performance throughout an organization – especially one that is increasingly remote. To book a demo go to https://aligntoday.com/

OKRs and our Lack of Professionalism

We get a lot of questions about how OKRs compare to the language we use in Scaling Up. First, my apologies for our lack of professionalism in our industry – every guru thinks they have to create new terms (present company included!) whereas every other profession shares the same language i.e. a femur is a femur – even among fierce competitors. In the case of OKRs, John Doerr decided to create his own language for what has been standard language for generations. Silicon Valley likes to do this kind of elitist thing! And its language that is reversed in my mind (Objectives are really Results; Key Results are really Objectives – see below). The best advice? Create your own language/brands inside your firm – adds to the cult-like aspect of your culture.

OKRs vs. Results/Priorities

To translate, Objectives (O in OKR) are what most would call Results/Goals/Outcomes – what we want to achieve. And we like the new MIT defined FAST vs. SMART goals (Frequently Discussed, Ambitious, Specific, Transparent). Key Results (KR in OKR) are what most call KPIs – how we know we’re making progress. And the OKR methodology adds Initiatives or what we call Priorities/Rocks – tasks required to achieve Key Results. So, to keep is simple – set a FAST goal, measure progress through KPIs, and decide what you need to do to achieve this.

One Spot -- Aug 17 – 20 CEO Boot Camp Estes Park, CO

Want three fun-filled days to work “on” the business with 7 other CEOs? Our August 17 – 20 CEO Boot Camp  -- Tuesday evening through Friday lunch – which was sold out for months, has one spot that opened up. Join me (Verne Harnish) for a deep dive into your business. We also have 4 spots left for our just announced Sept 28 – Oct 1, Lake Tahoe, CA boot camp.

Weekend Countdown – 1-Minute of Wisdom

Enjoy this kickoff to your weekend – some bits of wisdom from a fresh set of wise teachers, updated each weekend.
https://vimeo.com/showcase/weekendcountdown

Looking to Exit Next 6-12 Months?

Avoid these deceptive practices professionals use to cheat you out of millions. It’s a well-known formula I’ve seen hundreds of business owners fall victim to over the years. Email me for an article on how to avoid these pitfalls – and how to maximize one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your business life – [email protected]

*As an Amazon Associate, I may earn revenue from qualified purchases made through this link.

Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link.

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course

We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Auckland, NZ - Aug 12, 2021 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Phoenix, AZ - Aug 26, 2021 (In-Person)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam, NL  -  Sep 9, 2021 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia - Sep 22, 2021 (In-Person)
Lowell, Michigan - Sep 22, 2021
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Lowell, Michigan - Nov 4, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

Better Book Club –
What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

Write Your Own Book
Whether you want to make it to the bestseller lists or just sell a lot more of your goods or services, with a profound competitive edge over the competition, Book The Business: How to Make BIG Money With Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy is for you! Request your free copy of this ground-breaking book at advantagefamily.com/scalingup.

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!

Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 

Did you miss previous insights? - read here

Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Follow Verne on Instagram: @scalingup2.0

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

Scaling Up,
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#2 to Comp; Exit Tricks; Growing Broke; One Spot

We are the stories we tell ourselves. 

Shekhar Kapur

If everything were perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.

Beyonce

One Spot -- Aug 17 – 20 CEO Boot Camp Estes Park, CO

Want three fun-filled days to work “on” the business with 7 other CEOs? Our August 17 – 20 CEO Boot Camp -- Tuesday evening through Friday lunch -- sold out for months, has one spot that just opened up. Join me (Verne Harnish) for a deep dive into your business. We also have 4 spots left for our just announced Sept 28 – Oct 1, Lake Tahoe, CA boot camp.
www.ceo-bootcamp.com

Price/Package Differently (Scaling Up Case Study)
Dan Fantasia’s Wakefield, MA sales recruitment firm Treeline was at risk of “growing broke.” With the help of Herb Cogliano, Scaling Up coach, Dan created a new “do it with you” offering where clients can get 10 “ready to interview” sales candidates for a flat fee – a new pricing model for the industry. Best to be different in your industry, including how you price.

Half the Staff; 4x the Profit (Scaling Up Case Study continued)
Herb also guided Dan in using the various Scaling Up tools/techniques over the past 24 months to get more focused on core customers; upgrade his team to A-players; use the Power of One tool to significantly improve cash flow and profit; and go nationwide driven by a new BHAG. The results? Less than half the staff and 4x the profitability. This Scaleups.com story provides the details.

Flexibility Now Ranks Second Only to Compensation

Based on the recent Future Forum Pulse, 93% of knowledge workers want schedule flexibility. Embrace flexible working models by creating company-level principles and guardrails to add structure to hybrid, the “messy middle” of work. But note, compensation is #1 – which is up considerably from what it used to be – the job market has heated up.

Scaling Up Compensation Top HR Books

After its announcement last week, Scaling Up Compensation has rocketed to one of the top books in HR on Amazon.Turn your largest expense into a strategic advantage with 5 design principles brought alive by multiple examples from small, medium, and large firms. Getting compensation right, like price, can scale the bottom line by hundreds of percent and raise employee engagement scores which have languished for decades. “Get it right, then out of sight” is the goal of your comp plan.

It Takes a Village to Scale – Attract/Retain via Corp U
To attract, grow & retain talent, a corporate university is a must-have for your company to drive a culture of learning. Our ScaleUpU All Access pass can be your internal corporate university to simplify and streamline growth. You and your will have a program that goes beyond traditional education to give you current, real-world practical applications that are working today.  With the ScaleUpU All Access Program, we help you do that.  Email [email protected] for more information!

Weekend Countdown – 1-Minute of Wisdom
Enjoy this kickoff to your weekend – some bits of wisdom from a fresh set of wise teachers, updated each weekend.
https://vimeo.com/showcase/weekendcountdown

Looking to Exit Next 6-12 Months?

Avoid these deceptive practices professionals use to cheat you out of millions. It’s a well-known formula I’ve seen hundreds of business owners fall victim to over the years. Email me for an article on how to avoid these pitfalls – and how to maximize one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your business life – [email protected]

*As an Amazon Associate, I may earn revenue from qualified purchases made through this link.

Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link.

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course

We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Lowell, Michigan - Jul 22, 2021
Salisbury, England - July 6, 2021
Hong Kong, China, India, Middle East - July 14 OR 15 (Virtual)
California - July 19 & 20, 2021 - 2 Day Master Class (Virtual)
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Auckland, NZ - Aug 12, 2021 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Phoenix, AZ - Aug 26, 2021 (In-Person)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam, NL  -  Sep 9, 2021 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia - Sep 22, 2021 (In-Person)
Lowell, Michigan - Sep 22, 2021
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Lowell, Michigan - Nov 4, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

Better Book Club –
What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

Write Your Own Book
Whether you want to make it to the bestseller lists or just sell a lot more of your goods or services, with a profound competitive edge over the competition, Book The Business: How to Make BIG Money With Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy is for you! Request your free copy of this ground-breaking book at advantagefamily.com/scalingup.

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!

Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 

Did you miss previous insights? - read here

Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Follow Verne on Instagram: @scalingup2.0

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

My New Book; #1 Challenge; Introducing Children; Scaling Up Compensation

Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming. 

Richard Branson

Vision without execution is hallucination.

Walter Isaacson

All-Pro Dad – 3 Keys to Introducing Your Children
For years I’ve received/read the daily All-Pro Dad email written by many contributors including retired NFL coach Tony Dunge. This morning’s contribution is about 3 tips when introducing your children to other people: 

• Prepare them for a handshake and greeting
• Avoid embarrassing them
• Mention a reason you’re proud of them

Please take 1 minute to read the details for each tip – and note that they have meet-ups each month for an hour where you and your child can meet other dads and their children. 

Scaling Up Compensation – New Book Just Released
Subtitled 5 Design Principles for Turning Your Largest Expense into a Strategic Advantage, my latest 122-page book, co-authored with Dr. Sebastian Ross, provides dozens of small to large company examples of compensation schemes driving significant results.

5 Design Principles
Organized around 5 universal principles, one key is designing a comp plan that is “different” from the competition and aligned with the brand promises you want to deliver to your market. Most importantly – simply putting some thought into what is one of your largest single expenses will put you ahead of most. As companies scale it often becomes a piecemeal mess creating angst and demotivation throughout the organization (our apologies Amazon isn’t discounting the Kindle version at all – and it’s just Kindle – huge paper shortages would delay the book months – hoping the impact of the ideas is worth a gazillionX more than a $20 bill! Hope it’s not a demotivator.)

Hubert Joly Redesigned Best Buy’s Comp
For those who tuned into my fireside chat with former Best Buy CEO (or read his outstanding book The Heart of Business*) changed his thinking about compensation after reading Dan Pink’s book Drive* – and he credits the changes they made to compensation to driving a 10x increase in the stock price and a transformation of the culture. Compensation design matters a great deal!

Compensation – Other Side of Pricing Coin – Results up 250%
Designing compensation schemes is much the same as designing pricing schemes – two sides of the same psychological coin. Because both involve people, the design needs to be attuned to a deeper understanding of human behavior. In the book we share a case study of a firm that took the same variable compensation portion of their comp plan and put it on a casino-like “intermittent reinforcement” schedule and drove results up 250% -- and we’ve seen this over and over. The same on the pricing side – where demand-based pricing has driven profits up 250% or more. This is what is at stake putting some additional thought into your comp (and pricing) plans.

#1 Right Now – Compensation to Attract and Retain Talent
Employees will/should read this book. The war for talent has heated up – with shortages across entire industries. And the wage pressures are particularly prevalent at the frontline in addition to the senior ranks. What we don’t cover, however, is the very special topic of executive compensation. The books that are written about compensation seem to be geared for senior leaders of Fortune 500 firms! Not much else for the rest of us mere mortals.

Start with the CEO, CFO, and head of People (HR)…
…reading the book – then take a few “council” sessions to tweak your existing companywide comp plan. The Overview is designed to summarize the entire book – so a quick read for the CEO. The CFO and head of People can then dive into the specifics within each of the design principles. There is also a significant section dedicated to the special topic of sales compensation.

Five Years in the Making
Compensation is such an important topic – yet very little is written about it that is practical. Thus Dr. Sebastian Ross, my peer coach and partner in writing much of the People section of Scaling Up, and I teamed up to pull together the best practices gleaned from thousands of pages of research, articles, and interviews. Sebastian, a people-oriented CEO, also had a crucible company, Telemedicine Clinic, in which he was able to test the various design principles. With over 400 employees scattered around the globe, the approaches were rolled out across various cultures and countries – and we know the approaches scale.

We Welcome Your Feedback
Before we take the book to print in 2022 we would love your critique/feedback/case studies – we’ll continue to update the book, like I do Scaling Up, and share stories in these weekly insights.

Weekend Countdown – 1-Minute of Wisdom
Enjoy this kickoff to your weekend – some bits of wisdom from a fresh set of wise teachers, updated each weekend. https://vimeo.com/showcase/weekendcountdown

*As an Amazon Associate, I may earn revenue from qualified purchases made through this link.

Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link.

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course

We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Lowell, Michigan - Jul 22, 2021
Salisbury, England - July 6, 2021
Hong Kong, China, India, Middle East - July 14 OR 15 (Virtual)
California - July 19 & 20, 2021 - 2 Day Master Class (Virtual)
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Auckland, NZ - Aug 12, 2021 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Phoenix, AZ - Aug 26, 2021 (In-Person)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam, NL  -  Sep 9, 2021 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia - Sep 22, 2021 (In-Person)
Lowell, Michigan - Sep 22, 2021
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Lowell, Michigan - Nov 4, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

Better Book Club –
What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

Write Your Own Book
Whether you want to make it to the bestseller lists or just sell a lot more of your goods or services, with a profound competitive edge over the competition, Book The Business: How to Make BIG Money With Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy is for you! Request your free copy of this ground-breaking book at advantagefamily.com/scalingup.

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!

Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 

Did you miss previous insights? - read here

Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Follow Verne on Instagram: @scalingup2.0

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

Unicorn U; Corp U; Prioritize Cash; July 14 - 1pm ET

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. 

- Mae West

When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.

- Paulo Coelho

Raise Rates 50%, Collect 40% Deposits, Collect in 2-3 Weeks (Scaling Up Case Study)
Tatiana Soldatova and Danny Tseng put cash front and center as they doubled the revenue of their Toronto-based architectural firm Syllable. Initially aggressive with rates to break into the market, they began to embed themselves in the industry (Soldatova invited to the board of her industry governing body), sought more substantial clients, and raised rates 50%. Collecting greater deposits and staying on top of A/R using an app called Chaser, they solved their cash problems.  

Hiring based on their core values and establishing clear accountabilities using the Scaling Up FACe and PACe tools – with the help of Scaling Up Certified coach Bill Gallagher – Tatiana and Danny have transformed their business delivering flawless execution. This Scaleups.com article details this transformation.

Prioritize Cash Flow Now – July 14 Webinar 4pm ET
With the economy roaring back, watch your cash – growth sucks cash. Cash guru Alan Miltz (co-authored the Power of One chapter in Scaling Up*) is leading a webinar:

• How to control the 7 Levers (the DNA of your company) to improve your profit, your cash, and your value
• How to run your company in color code green (in which everyone understands the changes needed to achieve cash flow excellence)
• The One Page Financial Scorecard that will guide all your financial analysis meetings
• PLUS: There will be a 15-minute Q&A at the end of the event. Turn to Alan’s expertise to answer any questions you have about your numbers or his Master Business Course

Register here to save your seat: https://hubs.li/H0RBmzJ0

746 Unicorns – Which Universities Minted the Most Unicorn Executives?
SJD crunched data to determine where the top executives of the 746 unicorns (privately held firms valued over $1 billion) went to university. No surprise, the #1 university is Stanford. And the USA provided 10x the number of unicorn executives over #2 UK. This SJD blog post details the data and provides a link to the entire list of 746 unicorns. 

Building Your Corporation University
To retain and grow talent, a corporate university is a must have for your company to drive a culture of learning. This Entrepreneur magazine article by Daniel Marcos details three recommendations for building an effective corporate university. Let us know if we can help – our Growth Institute, for as little as $3k/month, can provide you an offering of 100+ branded online courses – in addition to our award-winning and accredited Master Courses (negotiations, hiring, sales, marketing, culture, cash, and scaling up). Email [email protected]

Weekend Countdown – 1-Minute of Wisdom
Enjoy this kickoff to your weekend – some bits of wisdom from a fresh set of wise teachers, updated each weekend. https://vimeo.com/showcase/weekendcountdown

*As an Amazon Associate, I may earn revenue from qualified purchases made through this link.

Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link.

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!

Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course

We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Lowell, Michigan - Jul 22, 2021
Salisbury, England - July 6, 2021
Hong Kong, China, India, Middle East - July 14 OR 15 (Virtual)
California - July 19 & 20, 2021 - 2 Day Master Class (Virtual)
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Auckland, NZ - Aug 12, 2021 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Phoenix, AZ - Aug 26, 2021 (In-Person)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam, NL  -  Sep 9, 2021 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia - Sep 22, 2021 (In-Person)
Lowell, Michigan - Sep 22, 2021
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Lowell, Michigan - Nov 4, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

Better Book Club –
What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

Write Your Own Book
Whether you want to make it to the bestseller lists or just sell a lot more of your goods or services, with a profound competitive edge over the competition, Book The Business: How to Make BIG Money With Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy is for you! Request your free copy of this ground-breaking book at advantagefamily.com/scalingup.

Did you miss previous insights? - read here

Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Follow Verne on Instagram: @scalingup2.0

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

Best Biz Model; Seize the Middle; Antitrust; Lake Tahoe Boot Camp

If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.

Chinese Proverb

We become the choices we make in life.

Jeff Bezos

CEO Boot Camp Lake Tahoe, CA – Sept 28 – Oct 1
We’ve added an additional CEO Boot Camp on the west coast for 8 CEOs and their #2s – held at the beautiful Resort at Squaw Creek. Including your #2 is an update to a program we’ve been hosting for years – giving the CEO an ally when they head back to implement the Scaling Up ideas/tools/techniques.  

Focus on Price/Payments Drives Cash and Profit (Scaling Up Case Study)
EO Accelerator participant Angela Pointon, founder of 11outof11 content marketing firm, used the Power of One Growth Tool from Scaling Up* to increase her focus on cash. Getting more of her retainers paid up front – and increasing by a few percentage points the size of those retainers – she’s been able to generate much more cash and 4 additional percentage points to her bottom line. With 50+ contractors working remotely, she’s also focused on inculcating a common set of core values across the organization – which includes a framed copy reminder of those values sent to all contractors to (hopefully) post on the wall above their desk. Simple idea, but helpful when people are remote. This Scaleups.com article provides more details including a larger image of her framed values. 

Seizing the Middle – In Chess and in Business
You think Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft have monopolies; John D. Rockefeller controlled 90% of the oil industry before his 40^th birthday! His chess-like “seizing the middle” strategy of controlling a key component of an industry – like Steve Jobs locking up all the Toshiba flash drives to power his nascent iPod, is a strategy all of you can consider. Jack Harrington’s team at VTC did the same locking up 20 of the key people in his industry. This FS article is a brilliantly written piece – and details why I chose to call our approach Rockefeller Habits 2.0). Thanks to Shashi Kaant Bhatnagar, CEO BellPepper Animation, for pointing me to this article.

THE Winning Business Model
Ram Charan penned an excellent Chief Executive article detailing the business model powering Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google’s monopolies – and why Facebook won its antitrust battle – the Feds focused on the wrong thing! This same three-legged biz model is open to all of us to copy:

• Dynamic pricing capability driven by algorithms – why I’m pushing everyone so hard on the pricing side of your business
• Continuous cumulative stream of diverse data – why my emphasis on first hand market intel
• Cash generation – these business models accelerate cash which enables risk taking and experimenting with fast-cycle innovations.

Please take 2-minutes to read the article – and months of weekly “council” discussions to see how this might apply to your business. 

Training (for a lifetime!) – Negotiations and Hiring – Save 25% on Bundle
The two most important leadership skills are your ability to negotiate while strengthening the relationship – and hiring A Players. Our two best-selling self-paced Master Courses are Dr. Victoria Medvec’s “High Stakes Negotiation” and Brad Smart’s “Topgrading” (the latter offered for two-decades, updated several times). Please take time this summer (or winter) to invest in yourself and others on your team -- sit back and brush up on these two important executive skills that will make or save you millions. Click here for 25% savings when purchased as a bundle.

Weekend Countdown – 1-Minute of Wisdom
Enjoy this kickoff to your weekend – some bits of wisdom from a fresh set of wise teachers, updated each weekend. https://vimeo.com/showcase/weekendcountdown

*As an Amazon Associate, I may earn revenue from qualified purchases made through this link.

Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link.

Better Book Club – What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

Write Your Own Book
Whether you want to make it to the bestseller lists or just sell a lot more of your goods or services, with a profound competitive edge over the competition, Book The Business: How to Make BIG Money With Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy is for you! Request your free copy of this ground-breaking book at advantagefamily.com/scalingup.
Did you miss previous insights? - read here 

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!

Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course

We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Lowell, Michigan - Jul 22, 2021
Salisbury, England - July 6, 2021
Hong Kong, China, India, Middle East - July 14 OR 15 (Virtual)
California - July 19 & 20, 2021 - 2 Day Master Class (Virtual)
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Auckland, NZ - Aug 12, 2021 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Phoenix, AZ - Aug 26, 2021 (In-Person)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam, NL  -  Sep 9, 2021 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia - Sep 22, 2021 (In-Person)
Lowell, Michigan - Sep 22, 2021
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Lowell, Michigan - Nov 4, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

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